Pyotr Kuznetsov (Russian: Пётр Кузнецов; born 1964) is the leader and founder of the Russian religious group, the True Russian Orthodox Church. Kuznetsov did not let his followers watch television, listen to the radio or handle money.[1] The group has been referred to as a "Doomsday cult".

Kuznetsov is a divorced architect from Belarus, who wandered all across Russia to spread his message of the impending apocalypse before settling in the village of Nikolskoye. He has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, and according to The Guardian, he sleeps in a coffin.[2]

On April 3, 2008, Kuznetsov attempted suicide when he was taken to a hospital where "Officials said that he may have attempted suicide after realising his prediction had been wrong."[3]

References

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  1. ^ Doomsday cult threatens suicide, CNN, November 16, 2007
  2. ^ Russian doomsday sect threatens mass suicide, The Guardian, November 15, 2007
  3. ^ Halpin, Tony (April 3, 2008). "Cult leader Pyotr Kuznetsov tries suicide after realising he was wrong about doomsday". London: The Times Online. Archived from the original on July 27, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
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